Maginomicon
2013-05-30, 04:33 AM
In my main game, I use UA's spell points system. Before you go off the deep-end about the spell points though, I want you to consider this modification I've made to the spell points "Vitalizing" subvariant. Originally, the Vitalizing subvariant was mind-bogglingly broken in a million different ways. Setting aside that the spell points system itself as-written is pretty damn broken (I've found my own fixes for that which I may post about later), I've put together this fix for the vitalizing subvariant that while making casters admittedly more powerful in terms of castings per day, its less-powerful than the original and also codifies a universal weakness to fatigue and exhaustion for all spellcasters.
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Vitalizing
In short:
Spell point loss causes fatigue or exhaustion,
Being fatigued or exhausted usually causes spell point loss, and
Spell point recovery removes fatigue and/or exhaustion, BUT
Removal of fatigue or exhaustion does NOT on its own inherently recover spell points
In the vitalizing system, spellcasters can potentially cast a great number of spells in a day, but every spell cast is a potential burden on the caster’s health and vitality. Reaching for and directing magical energy is a dangerous and taxing exercise, at least as difficult as heavy labor or prolonged exertion. In return, resting revitalizes the character more than a non-spellcaster.
This variant of the spell point system does not change the way a character prepares spells, casts spells, regains spell points, or any of the other rules from that system. However, the spellcaster’s pool of spell points represents a physical, not just mental, limit on his spellcasting power.
Fatigue and Exhaustion
Being a spellcaster changes your very physiology. By becoming a spellcaster, you become intrinsically linked to your bodily energy. Thus, you are always vulnerable to fatigue and exhaustion in all ways, and no character option, race, spell, power, item, or other effect can mitigate this. Effects that stop an effect that would fatigue or exhaust you from reaching you (such as spell resistance or AC) can prevent it, but if you have an immunity or an effect that reduces the effects of fatigue or exhaustion specifically, it does not function against fatigue or exhaustion.
When a spellcaster’s spell points fall to one-half of his maximum or less, he becomes fatigued. When his spell points drop to one-quarter of his maximum or less, he becomes exhausted.
If a spellcaster is subjected to an effect that would make him fatigued or exhausted for a standard period (the duration of the fatigued or exhausted condition), he loses spell points as described below. If a spellcaster is subjected to an effect that would cause fatigue or exhaustion for a non-standard period (such as with touch of fatigue, which has a duration in rounds, or ray of exhaustion, which has a duration in minutes), he does not lose spell points, but is treated otherwise as being fatigued or exhausted as normal.
If he becomes fatigued in a way that would cause spell point loss, his spell points drop to one-half his normal maximum (round down). If he becomes exhausted in a way that would cause spell point loss, his spell points drop to one-quarter his normal maximum. If a spellcaster has more than one spell point pool (i.e. from multiclassing), spell point loss caused by fatigue or exhaustion affects all of those spell point pools separately (although they may have different maximums and thus different fractions).
Exceeding Your Maximum
A spellcaster can exceed his normal pool of spell points, but at great personal risk. Doing so successfully requires a Concentration check. Each time a character casts a spell for which he does not have sufficient spell points and subsequently fails the Concentration check, the spell fails and he takes both lethal and nonlethal damage equal to the level of the spell cast. A desperate (or unwary) spellcaster can literally cast himself into unconsciousness in this manner. Regardless of success or failure on the Concentration check, the attempt expends any remaining spell points he has and also causes him to take Spell Point Burn (see below) equal to the number of excess spell points that would normally be required to cast the spell.
The Concentration check is
DC 20 + spell level
______- your remaining spell points
______+ your current Spell Point Burn
Spell Point Burn
Spell Point Burn is a new component for certain spells and an inherent part of attempting to use more spell points than you have available.
Recall how hit points and nonlethal damage interact. Lethal damage causes your number of hit points to go down, and nonlethal damage counts up. Spell Points and Spell Point Burn interact in a similar way. Casting spells causes your number of spell points to go down, and Spell Point Burn counts up. The more Spell Point Burn you have, the harder it is to cast a spell that exceeds your current number of spell points.
For spells with a burn cost, the cost is how many spell points you “burn” when you finish casting the spell. Burn costs on those spells usually equal the number of spell points spent when casting the spell.
Whenever you recover spell points, your amount of Spell Point Burn doesn’t count against your new spell point total when determining whether you’ve reached the 1/2 and 1/4 spell point value thresholds for fatigue or exhaustion (if they did count, it would cause a chain-reaction effect). Burned spell points recover at a rate of one per full hour of rest.
You cannot cast a spell with a burn cost component if your spell points minus your amount of Spell Point Burn would be insufficient to cast the spell. Further, you cannot exceed your maximum spell points in order to cast a spell with a burn cost.
Recovering Spell Points
In the vitalizing system, spellcasters must rest to recover their spell points and restore their physical well-being. A character’s spell point total is tied directly to his level of fatigue. If a character rests for 1 hour, his spell point pool rises to 1/3 of his normal maximum (round fractions down), any 0-Level spells are recovered, exhaustion (if he’s exhausted) is improved to fatigue, and he heals one point of Spell Point Burn (if he has any). A second consecutive hour of rest increases the spellcaster’s spell point pool to 2/3 of his maximum, removes fatigue (if he's fatigued), and heals another point of Spell Point Burn (if he has any). It takes a full daily rest to replenish the last 1/3 of his spell points. The caster can take any number of 1-hour or 2-hour rests, but he won’t recover all his spell points until he has a full daily rest as normal.
If a spellcaster has more than one spell point pool (i.e. from multiclassing), all aspects of normal spell point recovery affect all of those spell point pools at once (although they may have different maximums and thus different fractions). Spell point burn affects each spell point pool separately. If a recovery method specifically recovers some number of spell slots, you must pick the spell point pool of an appropriate type that it applies to at the time of recovery.
New Potions
Potion of Lesser Mana Restoration (CL 3) = 1800 gp
Potion of Mana Restoration (CL 7) = 4900 gp
NOTE: While potions of Lesser Mana Restoration can be created by anyone with the Brew Potion feat, Mana Restoration is a 4th level spell, so only Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher can craft a Potion of Mana Restoration and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.
New Spells
Mana Restoration, Lesser
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 2, Clr 2, Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, XP, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
Lesser Mana Restoration has different effects depending on whether the spellcaster is fatigued or exhausted:
If the subject is fatigued as the condition (rather than through a temporary effect), all 0-Level spells are recovered, their spell points raise to 2/3 their maximum (round down), and their fatigue is eliminated.
If the subject is exhausted as the condition (rather than through a temporary effect), all 0-Level spells are recovered, their spell points raise to 1/3 their maximum, and their exhaustion is improved to fatigue.
Burn Cost: 3
XP Cost: 2/3 of the subject’s spell point maximum (round down) if it would improve exhaustion to fatigue, or 4/3 of the subject’s spell point maximum if it would remove fatigue.
Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of Lesser Mana Restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of Lesser Mana Restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 300 XP.
Mana Restoration
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 4, Clr 4, Drd 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, XP, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
Mana Restoration eliminates any fatigue or exhaustion suffered by the subject, all 0-Level spells are recovered, and raises their spell points to 2/3 their maximum (round down).
Burn Cost: 7
XP Cost: 4/3 of the subject’s normal spell point maximum (round down).
Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of Mana Restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of Mana Restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 700 XP. Also note that as a 4th-level spell, potions of Mana Restoration can only be crafted by Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.
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Vitalizing
In short:
Spell point loss causes fatigue or exhaustion,
Being fatigued or exhausted usually causes spell point loss, and
Spell point recovery removes fatigue and/or exhaustion, BUT
Removal of fatigue or exhaustion does NOT on its own inherently recover spell points
In the vitalizing system, spellcasters can potentially cast a great number of spells in a day, but every spell cast is a potential burden on the caster’s health and vitality. Reaching for and directing magical energy is a dangerous and taxing exercise, at least as difficult as heavy labor or prolonged exertion. In return, resting revitalizes the character more than a non-spellcaster.
This variant of the spell point system does not change the way a character prepares spells, casts spells, regains spell points, or any of the other rules from that system. However, the spellcaster’s pool of spell points represents a physical, not just mental, limit on his spellcasting power.
Fatigue and Exhaustion
Being a spellcaster changes your very physiology. By becoming a spellcaster, you become intrinsically linked to your bodily energy. Thus, you are always vulnerable to fatigue and exhaustion in all ways, and no character option, race, spell, power, item, or other effect can mitigate this. Effects that stop an effect that would fatigue or exhaust you from reaching you (such as spell resistance or AC) can prevent it, but if you have an immunity or an effect that reduces the effects of fatigue or exhaustion specifically, it does not function against fatigue or exhaustion.
When a spellcaster’s spell points fall to one-half of his maximum or less, he becomes fatigued. When his spell points drop to one-quarter of his maximum or less, he becomes exhausted.
If a spellcaster is subjected to an effect that would make him fatigued or exhausted for a standard period (the duration of the fatigued or exhausted condition), he loses spell points as described below. If a spellcaster is subjected to an effect that would cause fatigue or exhaustion for a non-standard period (such as with touch of fatigue, which has a duration in rounds, or ray of exhaustion, which has a duration in minutes), he does not lose spell points, but is treated otherwise as being fatigued or exhausted as normal.
If he becomes fatigued in a way that would cause spell point loss, his spell points drop to one-half his normal maximum (round down). If he becomes exhausted in a way that would cause spell point loss, his spell points drop to one-quarter his normal maximum. If a spellcaster has more than one spell point pool (i.e. from multiclassing), spell point loss caused by fatigue or exhaustion affects all of those spell point pools separately (although they may have different maximums and thus different fractions).
Exceeding Your Maximum
A spellcaster can exceed his normal pool of spell points, but at great personal risk. Doing so successfully requires a Concentration check. Each time a character casts a spell for which he does not have sufficient spell points and subsequently fails the Concentration check, the spell fails and he takes both lethal and nonlethal damage equal to the level of the spell cast. A desperate (or unwary) spellcaster can literally cast himself into unconsciousness in this manner. Regardless of success or failure on the Concentration check, the attempt expends any remaining spell points he has and also causes him to take Spell Point Burn (see below) equal to the number of excess spell points that would normally be required to cast the spell.
The Concentration check is
DC 20 + spell level
______- your remaining spell points
______+ your current Spell Point Burn
Spell Point Burn
Spell Point Burn is a new component for certain spells and an inherent part of attempting to use more spell points than you have available.
Recall how hit points and nonlethal damage interact. Lethal damage causes your number of hit points to go down, and nonlethal damage counts up. Spell Points and Spell Point Burn interact in a similar way. Casting spells causes your number of spell points to go down, and Spell Point Burn counts up. The more Spell Point Burn you have, the harder it is to cast a spell that exceeds your current number of spell points.
For spells with a burn cost, the cost is how many spell points you “burn” when you finish casting the spell. Burn costs on those spells usually equal the number of spell points spent when casting the spell.
Whenever you recover spell points, your amount of Spell Point Burn doesn’t count against your new spell point total when determining whether you’ve reached the 1/2 and 1/4 spell point value thresholds for fatigue or exhaustion (if they did count, it would cause a chain-reaction effect). Burned spell points recover at a rate of one per full hour of rest.
You cannot cast a spell with a burn cost component if your spell points minus your amount of Spell Point Burn would be insufficient to cast the spell. Further, you cannot exceed your maximum spell points in order to cast a spell with a burn cost.
Recovering Spell Points
In the vitalizing system, spellcasters must rest to recover their spell points and restore their physical well-being. A character’s spell point total is tied directly to his level of fatigue. If a character rests for 1 hour, his spell point pool rises to 1/3 of his normal maximum (round fractions down), any 0-Level spells are recovered, exhaustion (if he’s exhausted) is improved to fatigue, and he heals one point of Spell Point Burn (if he has any). A second consecutive hour of rest increases the spellcaster’s spell point pool to 2/3 of his maximum, removes fatigue (if he's fatigued), and heals another point of Spell Point Burn (if he has any). It takes a full daily rest to replenish the last 1/3 of his spell points. The caster can take any number of 1-hour or 2-hour rests, but he won’t recover all his spell points until he has a full daily rest as normal.
If a spellcaster has more than one spell point pool (i.e. from multiclassing), all aspects of normal spell point recovery affect all of those spell point pools at once (although they may have different maximums and thus different fractions). Spell point burn affects each spell point pool separately. If a recovery method specifically recovers some number of spell slots, you must pick the spell point pool of an appropriate type that it applies to at the time of recovery.
New Potions
Potion of Lesser Mana Restoration (CL 3) = 1800 gp
Potion of Mana Restoration (CL 7) = 4900 gp
NOTE: While potions of Lesser Mana Restoration can be created by anyone with the Brew Potion feat, Mana Restoration is a 4th level spell, so only Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher can craft a Potion of Mana Restoration and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.
New Spells
Mana Restoration, Lesser
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 2, Clr 2, Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, XP, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
Lesser Mana Restoration has different effects depending on whether the spellcaster is fatigued or exhausted:
If the subject is fatigued as the condition (rather than through a temporary effect), all 0-Level spells are recovered, their spell points raise to 2/3 their maximum (round down), and their fatigue is eliminated.
If the subject is exhausted as the condition (rather than through a temporary effect), all 0-Level spells are recovered, their spell points raise to 1/3 their maximum, and their exhaustion is improved to fatigue.
Burn Cost: 3
XP Cost: 2/3 of the subject’s spell point maximum (round down) if it would improve exhaustion to fatigue, or 4/3 of the subject’s spell point maximum if it would remove fatigue.
Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of Lesser Mana Restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of Lesser Mana Restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 300 XP.
Mana Restoration
Conjuration (Healing)
Level: Brd 4, Clr 4, Drd 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, XP, Burn
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Spellcaster touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
Mana Restoration eliminates any fatigue or exhaustion suffered by the subject, all 0-Level spells are recovered, and raises their spell points to 2/3 their maximum (round down).
Burn Cost: 7
XP Cost: 4/3 of the subject’s normal spell point maximum (round down).
Special: For the purposes of creating magic items, only potions of Mana Restoration can be created. For the purposes of making a potion of Mana Restoration, ignore the burn cost and treat this spell as having an XP cost of 700 XP. Also note that as a 4th-level spell, potions of Mana Restoration can only be crafted by Master Alchemists (Magic of Faerun PrC) of 2nd level or higher and their market value follows those rules for potion creation.